Tendulkar equals record 34 tons and…
BREAKS SILENCE ON FITNESS
By Sham Samaroo
Last week, in the first test against Bangladesh, Sachin Tendulkar equaled his fellow countryman’s, Sunil Gavaskar, world record of 34 test hundreds. Gavaskar was the first to congratulate Tendulkar when he came off the field, and told him he hoped that he would go on to score 50 test hundreds. Gavaskar joked that it was lonely at the top, and said that after 21 years, it feels good to finally have some company. The great Gavaskar needed 206 innings to register his 34th ton, but Tendulkar took only 192 to accomplish the feat.
After equaling the record, Tendulkar told reporters that he was in pain throughout the innings. It was the first time that he broke his silence on the state of his injury despite being bombarded by a string of criticisms following a run of low scores. Tendulkar said that, upon his return from injury, it was widely believed that he was 100 % fit, but, in fact, he has been batting with constant pain in the left arm each time he played a shot. The injury placed limitations on his technique, and his ability to practice. "I wasn't able to hold the bat properly. I wasn't allowed to pick up the bat the way I normally do and hit the ball", said Tendulkar. Although we live in a world where it is fashionable to make excuses for our failings, it is a measure of the man that, through it all, he did not utter a word of his injury. Today we no longer take responsibility for our actions; instead, we blame it on others, or on circumstances beyond our control. Yet, in this instance, Tendulkar would have been justified if he did. In fact, most batsmen would have spoken out, but Tendulkar is unlike most batsmen. He knows that the cricket world has little sympathy or patience for such things. Besides, he understands, only too well, that because he is held to a higher standard, he will always be judged by a different set of rules. Ricky Ponting, ranked alongside Tendulkar as one of the finest batsmen in the world, has now gone 17 innings without a test hundred, but, to date, not a single question is asked of him. Despite the run of low scores this year, Tendulkar is on course to finish the year with an average above 95.
Nevertheless, any hope that this knock would silence the critics were quickly dispelled. Almost immediately, the innings was discounted because it came against minnows, Bangladesh. Well, lets take a look at this for a moment – what exactly are the critics saying? Should Tendulkar have thrown his wicket away in the 90s simply because the opponent was Bangladesh? Or, are they suggesting that, perhaps, he is no longer capable of making runs against more formidable opponents? But, tons number 32 and 33 were 241 not out at Sydney, and 194 not out at Multan against Australia and Pakistan respectively. Ok, then, maybe, they are critical because it took him too long to get the record? But, here again, the facts tell a different story. Tendulkar got there faster than Gavaskar – by some 14 innings.
One cannot help but think that had Tendulkar failed in this game, the same voices would have been equally strong about his inability to score runs even against lowly Bangladesh. It is Tendulkar’s faith that he will always be under the microscope. Like Greg Chappell told me last summer, “there is no batsman, not even Sir Donald Bradman, who has had to perform under such pressure”. Chappell said that it is a measure of Tendulkar’s extraordinary ability that he consistently performs well despite the expectations of over a billion fans.